


something wrong with the village (nothing with you)

by gaypanic



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Biphobia, Bisexual Regina Mills Week, F/F, Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 16:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13392018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaypanic/pseuds/gaypanic
Summary: Swan Queen, a High School AU following the prompt “Regina confronts homophobia” for Day Three of Bisexual Regina Mills week, in which Regina fights the good fight for her girlfriend, one person at a time.





	something wrong with the village (nothing with you)

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve never written nice Cora before! It was weird but also refreshing
> 
> (tw: for homophobia and bullying)

If Regina knew that Emma’s foster brother was such a fucking double agent perv, spying on Emma to report back to his parents, she would have been more careful. Neither of them would have expected it, though, so Emma told her not to feel bad and it would be fine, even though she was clearly on the verge of tears.

“Emma, talk to me,” she reached for her girlfriend, but the blonde scooted away. 

“If he tells them, they’ll kick me out. I’m  _ so close, _ Regina. I can’t go to another home. I can’t move again. It’s our senior year, and I… I just found you,” Emma cried. “But maybe it would be for the best. I hate this, Regina, I hate holding you back.”

“Emma…” Regina’s heart broke for her, as she tried once more to take the blonde into her arms, eager to console her. “You’re not holding me back. Don’t say that.”

“But it’s true… you’re out to your family, but we still can’t be  _ exclusive _ or  _ public _ ‘cause I have to hide just so I have a place to live.”

Regina shook her head. “Emma, I got lucky. And like you said, you’re  _ so _ close. When you’re eighteen, they won’t be able to stop you. But don’t you think for a minute that I would be better off without you. Okay?”

It took Emma a minute, but eventually she nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Regina repeated, wiping a few stray tears from Emma’s eyes. “Are you ready to go to lunch?”

“I guess so… I’m worried about what Trevor saw. What he’ll say…”

Regina was too, but she didn’t want to cause Emma any more worries, so she just kissed her on the cheek. “Come on, we’d better go.”

The whole walk there, Emma moved with her arms wrapped around herself, and all Regina wanted was to hold her hand, but she knew that would only make matters worse.

But the minute they walked into the lunchroom, she wasn’t sure it would have made a difference. 

Trevor was hovering over his friends’ table somewhere near the middle of the cafeteria, standing and eyeing the door as if he were waiting for them to walk in. Regina winced when she realized they would have to walk past him to get in the lunch line but moved forward anyway, turning back to Emma and saying under her breath, “Just ignore him.”

Emma nodded, following Regina past him, until he reached out, grabbing her arm. “Oh, here’s my dyke foster sister. About time you showed up.” Regina was immediately yanking his arm away from Emma, telling her to step back.

Wide green eyes met hers. “I’ve got this, Emma.” For a moment she thought Emma was going to move her aside, try and fight him. The anger built up in her eyes now that the shit had already started hitting the fan, but Regina gave her a look and the blonde reluctantly retreated. “Excuse me,” Regina said, tuning back to Trevor. “Just who do you think you’re talking to?”

“Not you,” he scoffed. “Get out of my way.”

Regina stood tall, “I’m not going to let you yell at her or call her derogatory names. You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“I know enough. I saw the two of you, kissing.” He looked over her shoulder to Emma. “What do you think is gonna happen when I tell my parents? I’m pretty sure they’ll kick you out.” Regina turned her head to Emma, starting to fume as she turned back to Trevor.

“You won’t say anything to them.”

“Of course I am. You’re a nuisance, Emma. I can’t wait until they send you back and get  you the hell out of here. But don’t worry,” he sneered in a mock caring voice. “I’m sure you can find a new girlfriend there, too.”

“No,” Emma muttered. “Please don’t tell them.” 

“Like you can stop me.”

“Trevor,” Regina started, trying to be approachable. “Just think about it, graduation is only months away, and then Emma will be moving out. I’m sure you can--”

“No one asked you. Like I would. You’re worse than she is. You’re clearly just a slut trying to get everyone to like you by sleeping with them. That’s what your kind does, isn’t it?”

“Shut _the_ _fuck_ up!” Emma suddenly shouted, pushing past Regina towards her foster brother, and if everyone wasn’t already alerted to the disturbance in the lunchroom, they were now.

“Emma,” Regina warned, reaching for her girlfriend’s arm to pull her back. “Stay out of this. I don’t want you getting in trouble.”

“But…”

“ _ Please. _ ”

With a huff, Emma backed off, and Regina turned back to Trevor, who scoffed. “ _ Best friends _ , yeah fucking right. I can’t believe anyone ever believed that.”

Regina sucked in a sharp breath, trying to think of a rational response to that and all the other obnoxious crap he’s said about Emma, her, their relationship, and their sexualities altogether, but she could only come up with one thing.

Her fist was in his face faster than she thought it would be, and she would have thought it was for nothing if he hadn’t recoiled from the blow, as her fist was throbbing in her hand. But then he returned the favor, and all pain was lost on Regina as she lunged back towards him, only more angry. 

She heard the cafeteria erupting in chaos, but the only details she could focus on was the fight in front of her. She was still swinging when a teacher grabbed her from behind, forcing them apart.

When they all but dragged her from the room, she wrangled up a smile for Emma, who was watching her with a mix of shock and amazement.

Regina and Trevor got suspended for the next week for their actions, but Emma didn’t get in trouble, so that made it all worth it, even if Regina’s mother disagreed. She drove up there the second they called her, and was waiting outside the office for Regina when she walked out. “What the hell?!” she demanded.

“Mom,” Regina hissed, “Not here, I’ll tell you in the car.” On the way out, she looked for Emma but didn’t see her. She pulled out her phone to text her the second she was in the car, and Cora almost lost her patience. “ _ Mom, _ you’ve got to calm down. Give me two seconds.”

“One… Two…” Cora sarcastically counted. Regina rolled her eyes, ignoring her and sending the message. 

“You know Emma?”

“Your girlfriend?”

Regina’s jaw dropped. “We’ve never told anyone that! How do you know--?”

Cora laughed. “I’m your mother, dear. Do you really think I’m that dense? Don’t you remember when I guessed about Robin?”

“But…”

“Don’t question it, Regina. I have magic powers.”

Regina sighed before getting into the details, telling her mother everything. In the end, Cora only had one thing to say about it. “You did the right thing, and you best believe I’m going to be at that next school board meeting raising hell.”

Regina believed it.

The next couple of days were quiet. Not being at school made Regina restless, especially because she couldn’t even talk to Emma while the blonde was at school, not wanting to run the risk of getting her in any trouble. After what happened, she would likely be walking on eggshells to keep in her foster family’s good graces.

She’d expected Trevor to tell his parents  _ that day _ , so the fact that he hadn’t only made Regina more nervous, piled on top of everything else, not to mention not being able to see her girlfriend.

One day, her mother was at work, and Regina was reading one of her school books, desperate not to fall behind when the doorbell rang. It got Regina’s attention, and she crept to the door, slightly unnerved.

She was stunned when her visitor was revealed to be Emma.

Throwing the door open, she didn’t hesitate before pulling Emma inside, closing the door behind her, and wrapping the blonde in a tight hug. “What are you doing here? Emma, you’re going to get in trouble for skipping school.” Emma’s response was a heavy breath against Regina’s neck, laced with a tiny whimper. “Emma?”

The blonde pulled herself tighter to her girlfriend, burying her face into Regina’s hair as she trembled in her arms. Regina led her to the living room, pulling her onto the couch next to her, and Emma immediately curled up next to her. 

For the longest time, she stroked Emma’s hair, giving her a chance to calm down before saying anything. She was sure it had something to do with Trevor and his parents, but she hoped it wasn’t too bad.

“Regina?” 

“It’s okay, Emma, I’m here. You can talk about it whenever you’re ready.”

The blonde propped herself a little, taking a deep breath. Regina braced herself for the inevitable. “They blamed me for getting Trevor in trouble, and of course, he was already mad at me. So he told them everything. About you, and about us kissing, and about the fight, so then they got upset at me for that too. For sneaking around, for getting him in trouble, for… you know, being gay.”

“Fuck them,” Regina said, not holding back.

“Yeah…” 

“There’s more isn’t there?”

“Unfortunately…” Emma bit her lower lip, looking at their intertwined fingers before continuing. “They aren’t going to kick me out…” 

Regina held her breath. She’d thought Emma being kicked out would have been the worst, but clearly it was not. “But?”

“ _ But _ Trevor’s supposed to keep tabs on me at school. To make sure we don’t see each other anymore. They’re trying to keep a leash on me until graduation. They said: ‘If we send you back, you’ll just go somewhere else and continue your lifestyle.’”

Regina shook her head in disbelief, never letting go of Emma’s hands, but then it dawned on her. “Wait, but why are you here? If they find out…”

“Let them find out.” The boldness in Emma’s voice was a sudden shift that Regina wasn’t expecting. “Regina, I’m almost eighteen, and I know that running away from them will only cause more problems, but as long as I’m running to you, I don’t care what happens.”

“Emma…”

“I’m serious, Regina. I don’t care how intense this sounds. I want  _ this. _ I want  _ you. _ I want to be happy.” Her certainty put a wide smile on Regina’s face, and she couldn’t help but lean in, her hand cupping Emma’s face as she kissed her girlfriend.

“Me too,” she said when she pulled back, smiling more now that Emma’s tears had stopped. However, her eyes were so red and puffy, and she just looked so  _ so _ tired, it made Regina worry. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

Emma shook her head, confirming Regina’s suspicions. “I couldn’t. I did try though.” With a sympathetic sigh, Regina shifted on the couch, fluffing up a pillow at one end and grabbing a blanket from the other. “What are you doing?”

“Setting up,” Regina answered, lightly pushing on Emma’s shoulders until she took initiative and lied down. “You need some sleep.”

“You’re not gonna nap with me?” Emma pouted.

“I will when I come back, okay? I have a few things I need to take care of first.” Emma looked suspicious, but silently nodded as she made herself comfortable. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

\-----

The first place Regina went was to her mother. She smiled when she walked into her office, but her face held hints of concern. “Something happened,” she said, not even questioning it.

“Mom, that’s starting to get kind of creepy. What else do you know?”

Cora smirked. “Are you going to tell me about it?” 

Regina explained the whole situation, everything Emma told her, and Cora’s face grew contorted with disgust. “I can’t believe that.”

Regina snorted, “I can. Anyways, so I know that it could get messy, Emma running away and all, but I can’t let her go back there. Would it be okay if she stayed with us?”

“Not only can she stay with us, but I will personally step in and get involved on her behalf if social services tries to step in. This is preposterous. How far away is her birthday?”

“About seven months.”

“Seven months,” Cora repeated, thinking about the situation for a moment before waving her hand dismissively. “Not a problem. We can make this work. I have some connections, and I can make sure nothing happens to Emma.” 

Regina let out a breath of relief. “Mom,  _ thank you _ . So much. I can’t wait to tell Emma,” she grinned, going for the door. “You don’t think anything will happen do you? Anything bad?”

“I’ll take care of things,” Cora assured her with a smile. “Are you going back home? Is that where Emma is now?”

“No, and yes. I have something to take care of first.” Her mother gave her a reproachful look, and Regina had no doubt that she knew what that  _ something _ was. “Mom, really?” Regina huffed. “It’s going to be fine. I just want to  _ talk _ to them.”

Cora tried to talk her out of it, but Regina had her mind made up, and her mother knew that there would be no stopping her, so she reluctantly stopped trying and made sure Regina promised to call her the second anything went wrong.

It wasn’t long before Regina found herself standing outside the front door of Emma’s most recent foster family, about to knock. She figured Trevor would be here at the very least, since they were both still suspended, but she was hoping the parents would be too.

It couldn’t have been more perfect when the uptight foster mother opened the door. She immediately gave Regina a once-over and called over her shoulder for her husband, who was by her side in seconds. Trevor followed a few seconds after his father, drawn in by the tense atmosphere and the probability of drama.

“What is  _ she _ doing here?” Trevor scowled at her.

“I don’t know, maybe she’s here to apologize,” his mother firmly said, with a pointed glare at Regina.

The brunette just scoffed. “I have nothing to apologize for.” The dad’s face twisted like he was about to yell, but Regina held a hand up to stop him. “I’m not here to cause a scene. I’m just here to tell you that you made a mistake.”

The woman gaped at her. “Ex _ cuse _ me, but--”

“No. You’re terrible people. You were supposed to be Emma’s family. You were supposed to make her feel loved and accepted, but instead you made her feel unloved and discriminated against, and it’s no wonder she chose me. I’m glad she did. I’m going to love her and protect her from bigots like you. I don’t give a damn about what you say. You can call the system, you can come to my home, you can try to take Emma away from me, but my mother and I aren’t going to let you homophobes near her ever again.”

She stared them down for a beat before turning and walking back to her car, leaving them stunned and likely angry. She silently dared them to challenge her or her mother on this. She knew they wouldn’t get anywhere.

When she walked back into her house an hour after she’d set out, Emma was still curled up on the couch, breathing softly against the back of the couch. Regina smiled down at her before curling up behind the blonde, her little spoon.

Emma shifted a little, and Regina kissed the back of her neck. “Hey, baby. Are you awake?” The blonde’s grin at the term of endearment was impossible not to notice, but she answered Regina’s question anyways by rolling over to face her.

“Hi,” Emma said. “I slept the whole time you were gone.”

“Do you feel better?”

“I think? I’m just really worried.”

Regina tucked a strand of hair behind Emma’s ear. “Everything’s going to be fine, Emma. I promise. You’re safe, and I’m here for you, as long as you want me to be.”

Emma grinned, “So, always?”

“Always,” Regina confirmed, pressing her lips to Emma’s. 


End file.
